That's very interesting, Martin.
What is the reckoning behind the bass lute in C? How long is that?! It
probably sounds very impressive but I think the trios can sound pretty
strong in most ranges. I'll agree, the small lute in d is pretty
shrill but in a dance situation it would cut through the stomping on
hardwood floors, gabbing gossipers and, possibly, the scraping of
plates.
I've often wondered if Pacaloni was offering a set of books that could
be used in ensembles for _as many as_ three lutes and _also_ (though
tacitly) in a variety of tunings and combinations (as did Hume
although he was more forethcoming about the variety) ie, he was
writing for many possibilities. Many, if not all, can work as duos and
the upper parts can even function as solos w/ a little raiding of
other parts for divisions or structure. With the addition of the
Viaera cittern parts the instrumental possibilities again expand. For
us, that expanded yet again w/ the addition of a bass cittern into the
mix.
Then yet yet again, the books come about fairly late and they may even
have been pirated from his notes or ...who knows? There's a lot of
guesswork in Pacaloni and I'm afraid I use it to the advantage of
whichever instruments are around. Or we feel like tuning up. Or humans
to play them. Or what key we want to be in.
On the subject of the descant lute though. I must confess that I enjoy
playing it for solo rep. There's an awful lot that doesn't work on it
(haha, Bakfark! Suzanne! Dowland!) but there's plenty that does. And
it's so delightfully portable!
best wishes,
Sean
On Jun 2, 2011, at 7:52 AM, Martin Shepherd wrote:
Hi All,
The Tieffenbrucker ("WE" = Wendelin Eberle?) lute which everyone makes
a version of is actually 44cm. I agree with Sean, it is possible to
tune it to d'' at modern pitch with nylon strings, but it is the
equivalent of tuning your 59cm "G lute" up to a', so not recommended.
Last year I finally did the experiment - low tension, all gut strings
in c'', and it suddenly sounded right. Sometimes we need to trust the
historical evidence!
Best wishes,
Martin
P.S. By the way, the "correct" way to play Pacoloni (no half measures)
is bass in C, tenor in D, treble in G. But a tone higher than that is
good (easier to find suitable instruments), and even F, G, C is good.
Anything which involves regarding a G lute as a "bass" is a bit of a
joke.
On 02/06/2011 15:10, Sean Smith wrote:
Short answer, Anton: There are plenty of duos for 4th apart. and
there are plenty of duos for 5th apart. There has been little to no
information about how to pitch the smaller instrument --or even the
larger. Specify which and your playing audience will find the
instruments. I find 4th apart to be very useful.
In the 1990's there was an American builder who built quite a few
Tieffenbrucker descant copies at a 43cm mensur. There don't seem to
be any other models to build from. Unfortunately that length is just
a little long for a D instrument and although it will reach with a
nylon topstring it sounds shrill to my ears. With few people having
an F lute this has been the defacto descant in D for the Pacaloni
trios. The Vallet quartets demand two instruments an octave apart so
the descant must be a D.
When we found a shorter descant (40cm) the shrill factor decreased
considerably and we use the "Tieffenbrucker" in C where it is
considerably happier. F-tenor and C-descant make a very good 5th
apart pair, too.
Ed Martin has a collection of vihuelas including a descant. I'd be
curious as to its length, tuning and topstring. Ed?
Best wishes and thanks for all the music!
Sean
On Jun 2, 2011, at 3:07 AM, Anton Höger wrote:
hi,
is the tuning for the Sopran lute in "c" or "d"?
I mean the open highest string of the sopran lute?
Thanks
Aton
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